I ran 11 miles today.

It’s part of my training for the MS Run the US Relay. During the relay I will be running 24 miles days for 7 days. I have many miles to run until May 24 the day that I will start running in Vernal, UT heading to Steamboat Springs, CO.

I have a new buddy, Bill Sinak. He ran 21 miles yesterday. He lives in St. Louis, MO. I have not actually met him, but have gotten to know him through social media and emails. He seems like a cool guy. Here is a nice article about him – Heros. When my Relay segment ends, his begins. I will meet him then. He promises to have a cold beer ready for me. How cool is that? Bill is running 200 miles. In 9 days. Now, how cool is that???

I admire Bill Sinak. Not for the fact that he promises me a beer or that he will be running 200 miles. I admire him for his training and his commitment to participate in this Relay. Bill has MS so he understands things on a deeper level than I do.

Bill Sinak also inspires me. He and I are probably the oldest runners participating. I am 59 and Bill is a youngster at 49. You would think we would have more sense. I keep an eye on Bill’s training. When I don’t feel like running I think of what Bill is doing or has done.

Looking forward to meeting you Bill.

There are 16 of us runners who are participating in the MS Run The US Relay. I have not met any of them. I do know they are all very cool people and they inspire me. I will tell you more about them over the next few weeks.

Our Fearless Leader for the MS Run the US is Ashley Kumlien. Fearless is actually a weak descriptor. Ashley is awesome. Ashley founded the MS Run the US as a way to fund-raise for MS research and education. Ashley’s mom, Jill, has MS.

Ashley inspires me as well. A few years ago she ran the entire distance from Los Angeles, CA to New York City, NY as away to increase awareness of MS. Rumor is she wanted to continue to England, but the Atlantic Ocean became an issue.

Ashley has all this positive energy and puts smiley faces in her Tweets and emails. She is very cool. I admire her as well. I also like to give her a hard time. Comes with the territory of being a Fearless Leader.

Looking forward to meeting you Ashley.

I started this piece telling you that I ran 11 miles today. It seems I wandered off my course, so to speak. While I was running, about mile 8, my feet began to feel tender. Not painful, but just that tenderness that says “us feet down here are doing all this work for you”. My feet are good workers. I reward them by wearing Brooks PureFlow shoes. My feet likes Brooks. This tenderness started me thinking about the people I know or know of who are dealing with MS. Some can’t walk with out a cane or a walker. Some are in wheelchairs. They all share the fact that they live with pain. I can put up with a little tenderness.

These most wonderful people inspire me. This is the reason I am doing what I am doing – preparing to run for this cause. Running for them and for myself. Long May We Run!